"Inadequate budget allocated by govt on air pollution": Congress MP Deepender Hooda

Speaking to reporters, Hooda thanked his party leader, Rahul Gandhi, for raising the issue of air pollution in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day.

"An inadequate budget has been allocated by the government, and even this budget has not been spent by the government. Only 1% of the budget has been spent on industrial pollution. In such a situation, we repeatedly raised this issue. On behalf of Haryana, I thank Rahul Gandhi for raising this matter vociferously. We hope that the government will hold a discussion on this next week," Hooda said.

Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday highlighted the growing air pollution crisis in India's major cities, urging the government to initiate a detailed discussion in the parliament and develop a systematic plan to address it.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said, "Most of our major cities are living under a blanket of poisonous air. Millions of children are getting lung diseases. Their future is being destroyed. People are getting cancer. Older people are struggling to breathe. This is an interesting issue because I'm certain that there will be full agreement between the government and us on this issue. This is not an ideological issue. Everybody in this house would agree that air pollution, the damage it is doing to our people, is something that we would like to cooperate on."

Emphasising the need for collaborative action, Gandhi added that it would be good if everyone would have a detailed discussion, and then the Prime Minister would put in place a plan for each city.

The Congress leader asserted that the millions of children's futures are being destroyed as they are getting lung diseases.

The debate comes amid growing public concern about deteriorating air quality across multiple cities, particularly in Delhi-NCR, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) readings have reached above 300, placing it in the 'very poor' category. (ANI)